Report: New Apple TV set-top due in September, will have remote with touchpad [View news story]

"Once again, why comment on something you're unfamiliar with?"

I am really glad for you that you are an Apple expert. Must really help in life, especially with your investment.

So basically, not only you will have to buy overpriced new generation home kit devices, but you will also have to pay an extra for a useless Apple TV. Well, at least you seem interested! Good for Apple.

"I'm guessing you said the same thing when Apple decided to enter the personal media player then the cell phone then the slate computer fields…"

I have been a regular AAPL investor since the iPod (about 2004). I have been incredibly thrilled when Apple presented iPhone, iPad and Mac Air. But since then, I am rather disappointed by AAPL and looking forward to disinvest progressively from my latest position at $64.

Computers and home security stand on completely different confidence levels. In the same way I do not trust generic drugs, I would not trust an amateur with my home security. I would rather trust a company that has been in security business for 45 years, who has been serving me extremely well for the past 20 years and who offers me its outstanding service for an extremely reasonable price. This company started offering all the features that Apple presented 3-4 years ago and I could select the ones that I am interested in. Too bad that I do not have iOS on my cameras and do not have an Apple logo on my movement detectors, but I will survive!

I am not interested in having a "smart house". I would rather remain safe in my old fashioned mansion than take a risk with this untested technology. Smart homes are the climax of laziness and stupidity of our society. Paying to have a Big Brother at your home is a perversity that even Orwell did not think of. A safe lock and a professional alarm system is more than enough for me. I do not want to be highjacked from my home by some hackers, like they did with the "secured" Jeep.

"Hmm…yes, it's unlikely Apple and its HomeKit partners considered such a possibility. Sheesh…"

A couple of years ago I got blocked in my Manhattan appartement by a hurricane. There was no power and no water for 4 days. Apple's iPhone and Watch do not hold their battery power for more than 24 hours. I suspect that their lock will not have more power reserve than that. In any case why would I take that risk for my OWN money?

"In fact, it's one of the reasons for HomeKit's relatively slow roll-out."

Tell me about it! I have been sleeping 2-3 hours per day since I turned 22 in order to be able to trade on Asian, European and American markets. I used to trade on the Tel Aviv stock exchange for a couple of years as well, but it turned out to be too much for me and I decided to take a full rest on Sundays.

I simply have a basic statistical and econometric (big data) formation from my business schools. As an economist and financial engineer you must be literate in econometrics. Nevertheless, I am barely intelligent enough to read the raw reports that our professional statisticians make. An important part of what these geniuses do remains a mystery for me.

I do not think that it is guessing, since the models can be mathematically proofed, but I think that the current models might be incomplete and moreover, it is possible to make mistakes on each and every step of the research.

I am nevertheless a little bit more skeptical regarding the financial models and algorithms that are being massively used by banks and big hedge funds. I suspect that if they are accurate and functioning, they deregulate the markets more than anything.

And of course, I agree that there is the effect of a crowd that cannot be completely figured out by current models. A lot of irrational behavior cannot be explained or modeled by current mathematical tools. But perhaps, people's "feelings" is the only thing that keeps markets efficient.

Investing is not about guessing. There are a lot of tools to make accurate estimations and predictions, like big data econometrics. I know that there are a lot of investors who guess. But in my opinion, a good estimation must require a good argumentation, a stochastic computer regression and above all an outstanding sampling so that all your work would not be stupidly biased by a lousy population selection. It requires a lot of work and time, but at least when you read it, you barely have any remarks to make. The result is scientific, sound and clear. Otherwise you can also go to some "medium" or a fortune teller. The result will be the same - completely random.

Report: New Apple TV set-top due in September, will have remote with touchpad [View news story]

Bart_SST,

You are right, there is no Safari on Apple TV. I did not use it for years and now that I switched it back on I realized that. What a shame! Frankly I am even more disappointed by that product. Complete waste of money.

Now regarding the HomeKit :

1. You do not need an Apple TV to run it. An iPhone, an iPad or a Mac is more than enough and should be much more comfortable in use. Personally when I use my alarm I always check everything on my phone or my computer, even though it is also connected to my smart tv. But it's your choice if you want to pay an extra $100. Whatever makes you happy.

2. I will never trust Apple for my home security. There a hundreds of specialized firms in alarm systems who will send a professional and weaponed guard to your home if something happens. In Europe this service costs from 35€/month + 250€ for a full alarm kit (cameras, movement detectors, fire alarm, etc.). Why bother going with Apple who is a rookie in this field? But hey, you live in glass and wooden houses in the US, while we have bulletproof titanium doors in our appartements in EU. Who am I explaining security to....

3. A home is not like a computer that you can throw away and buy a new one. If there is a problem with your "Smart Home" it will be a huge and unnecessary headache! Even a slightest light switch could cause you troubles, so an electronic lock on your entry door is really the wild card. Just imagine that your neighborhood would be out of power and that you would not even be able to lock your door. Very useful! And I am not even mentioning hackers.

Good thing that Apple did not produce its own home kit devices and decided to work with third party manufacturers!

Report: New Apple TV set-top due in September, will have remote with touchpad [View news story]

Ace of Saves,

Yes. For example according to the European laws you must wait at least 24 months after a movie has been released in European cinema theaters before broadcasting it on TV or on streaming services like Netflix. Therefore, Netflix's European offer is much less interesting than the American one. There are a lot of laws regarding an unfair competition between foreign TV channels and domestic channels. There are also a lot of extra taxes and licence fees for foreign channels. In addition, channels must get a governmental approval in order to be allowed to be broadly broadcasted. Moreover, there are also a lot of laws regarding the commercials that are allowed to be broadcasted as well as regarding the frequency of commercials. In the US the time that is allocated to commercials is about 4 times higher than in Europe.

It would be virtually impossible for American channels to comply to these regulations. Therefore the only American channels that we have are sports and news. Perhaps TTIP will remove these protectionist measure, but I doubt it, since the EU governments protect TV almost as much as agriculture. I know that in many Asian countries these laws are even stricter than in Europe.

Report: New Apple TV set-top due in September, will have remote with touchpad [View news story]

StLoMoDan,

Sorry pal, but the UK is not Europe. You have completely different laws regarding the content broadcasts and your legislation is much more liberal and "American" than the one that we have got on the continental Europe. So "You know not of which you speak."

Report: New Apple TV set-top due in September, will have remote with touchpad [View news story]

Citracyde,

I do not really see the rationale behind having your alarm system connected to your TV. The whole point of an alarm system is to protect your house while you are away. Thus, it has much more utility to have a connection to your phone or tablet so that you could check your house while you are far from home. The only people who might be interested in having an alarm system on their TVs are the wealthy people owning giant mansions and who do not even know what is going on on the other side of their homes. Well they already have this kind of alarms and therefore, do not need an Apple TV for that...

Report: New Apple TV set-top due in September, will have remote with touchpad [View news story]

Unfortunately it will be once again an exclusively American product. Apple TVs are sold in Europe, but the content is completely inexistent. All you get is Youtube, Safari and the poorly functioning AirPlay - basically a limited version of a plain smart TV. At best, next generation Apple TV will become a cheap game console. Even though I doubt that it will be able to compete with PlayStation or whatever. Moreover, the negotiation with studios and channels regarding new content seems extremely tricky. So with 25 million Apple TVs sold since the conception, I think that the underperforming trend will continue with the next generation. Bottomline : This product has nothing to do with iMacs, iPods or any other Apple product. To be honest I do not even understand why Apple keeps it.

Report: New Apple TV set-top due in September, will have remote with touchpad [View news story]

Dennis Baker,

The market did not reach its maturity, in deed. However, it became much more difficult for Apple to negotiate contracts. Studios and channels will try to rip off each and every penny that they will be able to from Apple. In any configuration Apple will not be able to be competitive enough and thus, the price will be pretty high for the consumers. Besides, it will be an all American product and the content will be banned from all the other parts of the world, as it is today. Does it really worth the efforts? I am sure that the product will be far from perfect, just as in the case of Apple Music. I think Apple should leave it to startups and online studios. Specialization is still the key, while an incomplete and lousy diversification might eventually harm the company more than anything.

"[..] the problem is: Nokia's device has actually nothing to do with VR. It is a 360° film camera."

Well, according to Nokia and Jaunt it has absolutely everything to do with virtual reality. It is not simply a set of cameras, it has particular features making it a "virtual reality" camera that records in virtual reality. Moreover, you would need an Oculus or HTC headset in order to get the full capacity of this OZO device - 3D sound and 360° experience.

Regarding the render of the recordings we will have to wait another week to see them on Youtube. I would wait at least until then to criticize it. But since it is only the first version, obviously the next ones will be much more impressive.

Now regarding the movie experience, I would say definitely yes, it will be much more impressive than 3D. However, I do not think that this kind of technology would fit into movie theaters. I believe that this kind of technology needs a complete isolation in order to deliver its maximal potential. Being surrounded by a crowd would most definitely stick you to the reality, while the purpose is literally to dream awake. Therefore, Netflix and HBO will most definitely be the first targeted clients for this technology.

"[...] this will not be a stock catalyst [...]"At the present time certainly not. I think that it will take at least 3-5 years to be fully functioning and profitable. But it is still a great start and for me, personally, it makes the company extremely attractive on the long term perspective. When Facebook acquired Oculus, I multiplied my position by 10, as I see a huge potential in this new market, whilst before that I used to consider FB simply as a speculative trade.

"[...] Nobody cared and nobody bought the devices."Well, these remained some plain phones. At the moment no one can compete against Apple. Even if Samsung would had actually released a bendable phone, I doubt that it would have sold more phones than Apple. I believe that this is why Nokia focused its camera on professional market B2B and I think that it is a wise choice. At least for now.

It goes way beyond that. I hope you realize how popular role play (RPG) games became. Remember these fantasy games and GTA-like games? There was also that creepy website called "Second Life" that made millions. People desperately need to get away from reality and live an awake dream. That is why books, plays, movies, drugs and then video games became that popular. Virtual reality will be the next addiction.

Moreover, this camera will not only be a big step forward for new VR devices, but it could also revolutionize the film industry. Instead of 3D you would actually be able to be part of the movie. And eventually, private footages will become real life memories that you might be able to relive.

I do not know which part Nokia decided to play in this new Eldorado, but I am already glad that it at least became part of it at these early stages.

Networks are great to generate revenue, but it will not push Nokia into hyped valuations. As of today investors are only interested in projections, future possibilities and new hypothetical markets. Profits are unfortunately secondary if you make the markets dream. I believe that Nokia delivered a tremendous start for an extremely lucrative business.

Just imagine that instead of watching TV or playing in some game consoles you would actually live something and experience a virtual life in your home. I bet that it would make anyone addict. This might be the next big thing and I am glad that Nokia is part of it.

The possibilities of this 360° camera are quiet unlimited. Some company might record paradisiac places such as Bora Bora, Tahiti, Hawaii, Maldives or Bally and make you be part of it with a virtual reality device. Virtual vacations, parties, role games, etc. Heck, imagine a private family footage like your kid's birthday, a wedding or family vacations shot in 360° and that would allow you to live back each moment. I think Nokia really holds something quiet interesting here!

Oil price plunged over 60% since last year and someone expected that oil companies would deliver the same revenue as last year? Pure nonsense. Even though some entities might have purchased more oil due to more attractive prices, it is still delusional to compare year to year results in this environment.

The bottom line is that APC is already sufficiently efficient to sustain these price levels and that it cans still deliver a profit unlike most companies on the market.